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Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

kendoui.com

31–40 of 95 posts

Re: Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

#31

Note: You cannnot use this library on your web site . The licensing agreement forbids you from redistributing the library, whether or not it's minified. It further states, "You are not allowed to integrate the Software into end products or use it for any commercial or productive purpose." So private deployment is out too. It's strictly for your own evaluation and amusement. http://www.kendoui.com/download/licenseagre…

After poking around on their website, I noticed that this library is being developed by Telerik (http://www.telerik.com/), which is a pretty big vendor for .net libraries.

The trouble is I don't think they have a library for MVC3-ish apps with a front-end focus. At my place of work, we are ditching the traditional asp.net development and porting our app to MVC3. In the switch our Telerik .net controls were no longer usable, and we switched to jQuery UI.

I'm sure this will just end up being their solution to jQuery UI, to the corporate types that already use their current offerings.

Re: Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

#32
If you take away how this looks, and start digging into the project from a beginner's perspective, this project is awful. I find this with most of the supposed "UI frameworks" out there for HTML. With a few exceptions, they mostly lack:

1. Good documentation that doesn't just define the framework, but teaches you how to use it and get stuff done with it. Code already defines what it is, your docs should tell me why it's this way and how to use it. In Kendo UI they've got a list of dependencies for javascript projects they need, then a few code snippets with no explanation as to why or how they work.

2. Good sample code, in a full complete project you can download, with documentation on getting it up and running. Your first sample code is how everyone will write code using your project. If you've got bad samples, poor formatting, and weird file layouts (or none), then that's what everyone will write and that's what you'll be known for.

3. Examples that gradually increase in complexity. Start off with a simple hello world, graduate to a chat app or something simple, and get them to a full blown large application. In this Kendo example they've got a demo picture viewer, with no explanation for how it was built, and viewing the source it looks like a huge mess.

4. Humor. These kinds of documentation are boring as hell, especially if you're just defining everything. It doesn't have to be insanely hilarious, but at least throw a few little funny tidbits in the code. Even the great tech books of our time have tiny little jokes for the people who pay attention.

5. Finally, these frameworks rarely have a "theme". MVC is a theme. Convention over configuration is a theme. There's only one way to do it. There's more than one way to do it. Themes work to help people keep the script for why everything works the way it does in their head.

It's too bad because this looks really good, and it could be the most awesome thing on the planet. But if I can't figure it out even if I want to, then I'm never going to try.

Finally, none of what I wrote above applies if your project is for fun and not meant to be a "product".

Re: Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

#35

Note: You cannnot use this library on your web site . The licensing agreement forbids you from redistributing the library, whether or not it's minified. It further states, "You are not allowed to integrate the Software into end products or use it for any commercial or productive purpose." So private deployment is out too. It's strictly for your own evaluation and amusement. http://www.kendoui.com/download/licenseagre…

correct link seems to be http://www.kendoui.com/download/LicenseAgreement.aspx?skuId=...

Re: Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

#36
post #2

Seems like an obvious FAQ would be, "How does this compare to jQuery UI?".

It appears to be more oriented toward enterprises, who'd be happy to license this just for internal web apps. You've got Grid and Chart widgets (must-haves for internal sites that show business data), but no Datepicker (a must-have for consumer-facing sites).

Re: Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

#38
post #2

Seems like an obvious FAQ would be, "How does this compare to jQuery UI?".

It appears to be more oriented toward enterprises, who'd be happy to license this just for internal web apps. You've got Grid and Chart widgets (must-haves for internal sites that show business data), but no Datepicker (a must-have for consumer-facing sites).

A Datepicker is currently being worked on.

Re: Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

#39
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It appears to be more oriented toward enterprises, who'd be happy to license this just for internal web apps. You've got Grid and Chart widgets (must-haves for internal sites that show business data), but no Datepicker (a must-have for consumer-facing sites).

A Datepicker is currently being worked on.

Good to know. I've gotta say, the jQuery UI Datepicker is just perfect. If I use jQuery UI on a site, it's almost certainly just for the Datepicker.

Re: Kendo UI - a framework for modern HTML UI

#40
post #14

I apologize in advance if this opinion offends anyone, but every HTML UI kit that I've seen simply can't hold a candle to native kits such as WinForms, WPF or even Cocoa. I would really love a write-once browser based solution, but I just can't see that type of solution ever catching up to native tech. How long do we have to wait before the browser can catch up? Do you think it will ever happen? The closest thing tha…

Considering that Silverlight is a download, I would not place it in this category.

Someone mentioned Sencha already. The other strong offering is Cappuccino.

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